pier

We were on Deck 11 on the Infinity and wouldn't do it again. Blu was great for breakfast and service, but we ate dinner in the MDR most of the time because the food was much better. Also, there was the seasickness factor. If I were in your position, I'd keep the well-located cabin that you have rather than switch.

As I said much earlier, we used Spain Direct in March 2009.

Mura

I was unable to find Spain Direct. I assume they are out of business.

What is the date of your port stop in Malaga ?

I will be on a cruise stopping in Malaga on July 3,2016.

I too want to book a private excursion exactly as you are doing to Granada and the Alhambra.

I have researched on Trip Advisor and those advanced tickets are the sticking point as far as I can tell.

Good luck, and please post here when you firm up the tour.

I figure I have time before I organize this tour and post on my roll call.:)

I still haven't been able to firm up a private tour, and we're going in October so you should get right on this. The problem is that The Alhambra issues 700 tickets a day, and the cruise ships buy most of them. You might end up having to take the ship excursion if they still have openings.

We've been cruising for years, and this is the most difficult excursion I've ever tried to organize. There are some tours on Trip Advisor that have gotten poor reviews.

Please let me know if you find something that I've missed. Good luck!

All I am saying is make sure that Spain Day Tours does get you tickets. Right now. Or you might miss out. Get a confirmation email from them that they have the Alhambra tickets for you.

I haven't been able to get a confirmation from them that they have tickets, so I haven't signed up with them. I still need a tour company that has tickets to get us from Malaga to The Alhambra.

Thank you all for your help. This is the best forum!

We used Spain Day Tours for the tour to Seville that I mentioned when I opened this thread. It was a frustrating day for our group, and I wanted to avoid that happening again. Sometimes it's just the luck of the draw...

I've read about the difficulty of getting tickets to the Alhambra so I appreciate your advice to check to make sure the tour company has them.

I'm going to look into Made for Spain tours.

We'll be in Malaga and want to take a day trip to Alhambra. Can anyone recommend a good experience with a company for a private group excursion? (On a past cruise we took a private excursion with a group from Cadiz to Seville and had a guide whose English was unintelligible. It was quite an experience and one that we don't want to repeat! I've never heard so many "What did she say?" in my life.)

I'm late posting here but thought I would add our experience. After cruises with Oceania, we decided to try Azamara. In 2010 we took a cruise that went from Athens to Istanbul. The food was so disappointing that we ended up eating in the specialty restaurant almost every night, which added considerably to the cost of the cruise, and the specialty restaurant wasn't special. This experience cured us. We haven't looked at an Azamara cruise since. Later, I learned from reading the Azamara forum that the chiefs on that cruise were told to economize.

We've been on Oceania, Azamara, and Celebrity cruises a number of times, but we've never cruised on Holland America. I would appreciate your feedback on the Ryndam. I'd also appreciate hearing from anyone who has taken the Norway cruise.

The benefit we enjoyed most was fresh-squeezed OJ and smoothies on the breakfast room service menu.

 

 

C2 on Deck 12 under the Oceanview Cafe can be noisy and the overhang keeps the sun away from you balcony.

We just returned from an Infinity cruise to the British Isles. We had a C2 cabin that was under the Oceanview Cafe and were awakened at night by banging and scraping noises. We got up in the morning exhausted.

The fresh-squeezed OJ from the room service breakfast menu wasn't fresh-squeezed. It tasted metallic, straight from a can.

We just got back from the Infinity British Isles cruise. My husband has Celiac disease and became ill from cross contamination on the fifth day of the cruise after eating breakfast in the MDR. We believe this occurred because of someone's carelessness in the kitchen, even though he made sure to tell the waiter when he ordered that he was gluten free. Celebrity tries hard to make sure that passengers with gluten-free needs are accommodated, but unfortunately for us accidents happen.

I know that I am in the minority, but I did not care for the evening meals in Blu. I loved breakfast, but not dinner. It was certainly not worth the extra cost to me.

 

Carolyn

I agree! Some of the dinners we had in Blu were so disappointing that we started eating in the MDR and were much happier. The meals were excellent. Also, getting to our cabin was inconvenient. We were on the Infinity and had to walk from one end of the boat to the other to get there.

We're going on another cruise in a few weeks, and we're going Concierge class.

 

In Belfast we did the Giant's Causeway excursion and it was fantastic. We made a bee line for the Causeway Hotel on the way back from the Causeway and had a fantastic pub lunch. It was a great excursion that took us through farmland and ocean vistas. Loved it. Great value.

 

In Dublin the HOHO bus is great and the Guinness Factory is the highlight of everyone's trip- even if you aren't a stout drinker.

We'll be sure not to miss it. Again, thank you all!

I would recommend Conwy Castle - it's about ten minutes from my home town. It is completely the other end of the country from 'How Green was my Valley' however. North Wales is more beautiful than the south, in my somewhat prejudiced opinion! Liverpool, Chester and North Wales are all well worth visiting.

 

Sheila

Now I really, really want to go to Wales! I hope we can get a tour.

Thank you all for your replies! They are most helpful.

Since it's so easy, we'll definitely take the bus to Honfluer. We've already been to Paris, Rouen, Giverney, etc., so it's a good choice. I wasn't sure there was that much to do in Le Havre.

In Dublin and Belfast we'll do the HOHO bus.

welshfamily: your post made me want to see Wales more than Liverpool. (I read "How Green Was My Valley" years ago and loved it)

4774Papa: Your review of your cruise was very informative. I tried to book the tour to Wales that you went on, but it's filled. I emailed them hoping they can make room somehow. We're taking the Cork tour that you went on, but it's now almost doubled in price!

We're taking an August British Isles cruise and are wondering about getting to Le Harve, Dublin, and Glasgow from the dock. Is there transportation available other than taking the ship excursions to get back and forth? We don't want to be locked into their times. We're planning on taking the HOHO bus in Belfast and Dublin. We're not sure what we're doing in Liverpool.

We were in Aqua class several years ago on the Infinity. The breakfasts were terrific, but it was inconvenient to get to the cabin (on the 11th floor), and the dinners were somewhat disappointing so we ate in the MDR and liked it much better. There wasn't a problem of switching. That said, we were a party of 2, not 4. Since this cruise is to be with your family, I agree with the others who advise to switch out of Aqua, save money, and be assured of being with your family.

That wouldn't be my first choice. I would chose a C3 cabin on Deck 8. Stateroom 9126 is right under the buffet area where you might hear rolling carts early in the morning setting up for breakfast. Additionally, there are port hole windows in the floor in the seating area near the windows that folks can see down below onto balconies. I would chose a stateroom farther back aft -- 8148 - 8162.

Thank you for your help!

Our Infinity cabin for a British Isles cruise is 9126. It's difficult to see what is directly above the cabin from the deck plans. Would like to hear from anyone who has had this cabin or one nearby.

Also important to note that beverages from room service are not included in any beverage package, if you want something like soda, bottled water, etc. they will charge you to bring it to you. :-)

Does this mean that orange juice and coffee ordered with room service for breakfast are charged as extras if you don't have a beverage package?

OUr suggestion for really enjoyable cruising is Azamara. We have done 5 Oc. and 4 Azamara, plus many other larger ships (which we won't do again). Azamara, which is same size as Oceania smaller ships, offers a warmer environment, a more caring staff, and more included in the price. Our suggestion--try Azamara. ddcruiser

We tried Azamara, and the food was disappointing. The "formal tea" they had--a small tiered tray on each table with cookies and tiny sandwiches on it-- was almost a joke compared with Oceania's generous, delicious teas.

Thanks, Winegirl! Your posts have been a gift.

Sorry, I messed up. I wrote Juneau when I should have written Ketchican. The building with all the tour operators is on the Ketchican pier. It's very convenient.

I took a flight over the Misty Fjords. The day was sparkling clear and the trip was unforgettable! That said, it would be a disappointment if it were very overcast. Rather than booking the flight in advance, you could wait until you arrive in Juneau. Then get of the boat as soon as it docks and head to the building on the pier where you can book flights as well as other excursions. There are a number of different flight operators there.